Inflated bag for cleaning clothes

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a process for cleaning and/or refreshing soiled fabric article(s) by placing the soiled fabric article(s), together with a cleaning composition, into a bag, sealing the bag, placing the bag into the drum of a laundry washing machine, inflating the bag and running a wash cycle on the washing machine. The invention also relates to a fabric cleaning and/or refreshing kit.

This invention relates to a process for cleaning and/or refreshing soiled fabric article(s) by placing the soiled fabric article(s), together with a cleaning composition, into a bag, sealing the bag, placing the bag into the drum of a laundry washing machine, inflating the bag and running a wash cycle on the washing machine. The invention also relates to a fabric cleaning and/or refreshing kit.

Typically, there are two different methods of cleaning fabrics, namely, first, by immersing and agitating the fabrics in an aqueous washing medium including detergent, typically in a laundry washing machine, usually referred to as “laundry washing”, and, second, in particular for specific kinds of fabrics, by using non-aqueous solvents in a specific process usually referred to as “dry cleaning”.

In dry cleaning, various hydrocarbon and halocarbon solvents, such as trichloroethylene or perchloroethylene, have been used as a cleaning medium to dissolve or disperse soils. Such solvents typically exhibit a high evaporation rate so that they readily volatilize after their application and can easily be recovered. One of the most inconvenient disadvantages of a dry cleaning process is that it is limited to commercial cleaning operations, which employ expensive specialized equipment. Thus, the consumer is not able to clean or refresh his garments by himself, which is not only inconvenient, but also costly. Moreover, the use of organic solvents having such high volatility tends to release vapours, which are deleterious to human health. Although there is a strict control of commercial dry cleaning operations, many consumers are reluctant to use such services for ecological considerations.

Various processes for dry cleaning processes to be carried out in the home have been proposed in the art

U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,253 is directed to a dry cleaning process which involves placing in an air impermeable bag a fabric to be cleaned and a quantity of dry cleaning agent, sealing the bag to confine therein the fabric, the cleaning agent and a quantity of cushioning air to help preventing wear of the fabric to be cleaned, tumbling the bag to cause the cleaning agent to clean the fabric, removing the cleaned fabric from the bag, and removing the cleaning agent from the fabric.

GB 1 598 911 is directed to a method for cleaning garments comprising the steps of placing the fabrics in a perforated flexible bag, sealing the perforated bag and the fabric contained therein in a liquid-impermeable flexible bag containing a dry cleaning solvent, and agitating the second bag and its content in a drum of a domestic washing or drying machine.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,024 is directed to a home dry cleaning process and formulations useful in such process. This method comprises the steps of applying to the textile material a quantity of cleaning agent comprising an organic solvent, placing an absorbent sheet in contact with the textile material, covering the surface of the absorbent sheet not in contact with the textile material within an impermeable sheet, forming the impermeable sheet into a closed system encompassing the absorbent sheet and the textile material, in particular forming the impermeable sheet into a bag-like structure, spinning such closed system on the interior surface of the drum of a washing machine to enable the cleaning agent to migrate into the absorbent sheet, and removing the textile material from the closed system.

PCT Application WO 93/23603 discloses a dry cleaning kit for in-dryer use comprising a plastic bag to enclose in vapour-impermeable manner a soiled fabric, and a fabric-cleaning article, comprising a porous substrate sheet impregnated with a gelled cleaning composition, as well as a process for the use of this kit by placing the soiled fabric article and the fabric-cleaning article into the plastic bag, closing and sealing the bag, tumbling the bag in a hot air dryer, and removing the cleaned fabric article from the bag.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,851 discloses a very similar home dry cleaning process and in particular a specifically useful dry cleaning composition to be used with such process.

A number of U.S. Patents, in particular U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,547,476, 5,630,847, and 5,630,848, are directed to an in-home dry cleaning process, as well as to related formulations, comprising the steps of placing the fabrics to be cleaned and the cleaning composition within a flexible plastic bag, closing and sealing the bag, placing said bag in a rotating apparatus, rotating the bag for a specific time period, and removing the fabrics from the bag. The preferred rotating apparatus for this process is a hot air dryer. However, also a laundry washing machine could be used.

Although these prior art documents illustrate various alternative approaches for home dry cleaning, they still have some shortcomings and limitations.

In particular, none of those processes is specifically designed for the use in the normal washing cycle of a laundry washing machine. As the number of hot air dryers present in the home is still low in most countries, a specifically designed process and system for use in an automatic washing machine would be extremely useful due to the larger numbers of such machines found in the home.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a process for cleaning, preferably water-free cleaning, at home specifically adapted for use with a laundry washing machine.

According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for cleaning and/or refreshing soiled fabric article(s) comprising, or preferably consisting essentially of;

-   -   the folowing two steps in either order     -   1) placing the soiled fabric article(s) into a gas and water         impermeable bag so that the fabric article(s) are in contact         with the inside surface of the bag and a cleaning or refreshing         composition, and     -   2) placing the bag into the drum of a laundry washing machine,         and     -   3) sealing the bag,     -   4) inflating the bag with a gas to an extent that it will occupy         a major portion of the volume of the drum,     -   5) running a wash cycle of the laundry washing machine,     -   6) and removing the cleaned or refreshed fabric article(s) from         the bag.

Advantageously, the bag is inflated to occupy substantially all of the volume of the drum.

In a preferred embodiment, the bag is inflated by introducing gas into the bag. The gas is ideally air which is forced into the bag, for example, by means of a manual or powered pump.

In a further preferred embodiment the gas simultaneously serves as a carrier for introducing at least a portion, preferably all of the cleaning composition into the bag.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a fabric cleaning or refreshing kit comprising, preferably consisting essentially of: (a) one bag made of gas and water impermeable flexible material having at least one opening to introduce soiled fabric article(s), a sealing system to seal the opening after introduction of the soiled fabric article(s), and means to inflate the bag; and (b) at least one cleaning and/or refreshing composition.

In a preferred embodiment of the kit, the means for inflating the bag is a one-way valve adapted to be connected to an air or gas supply, and, optionally an air pump or compressed gas, preferably air.

Advantageously the cleaning and/or refreshing composition is already provided in the bag, ideally in the form of a solid or a liquid, or can be added to bag prior to sealing the bag as a solid or liquid. After sealing the bag the composition can be added in the form of an aerosol or other system comprising a gaseous carrier which is introduced into the bag. When the composition is in the form of a liquid this may be added as is or within a rupturable container. The container will rupture either when subjected to agitation in the wash cycle of the washing machine or exposed to elevated temperatures of 45° C. to 95° C. found in the machine wash cycle of the washing machine. The composition may contain components in the form which will evaporate at temperatures of 45° C. to 90° C. found in the wash cycle, for example perfumes or solvents, allowing for an even spread onto the fabric.

Surprisingly, the inflation of the bag filled with the fabrics to be cleaned, after the insertion of the bag into the drum of a conventional domestic laundry washing machine, allows the cleaning or refreshing process to be run in the normal cycle of the washing machine in a very simple and effective way providing numerous advantages over the prior art processes.

When using a normal washing cycle of conventional laundry washing machines a reduction in the water consumption is achieved without taking any special measures. Laundry washing machines normally control the amount of incoming water with the aid of sensors situated at a certain level in the cuvette of the machine. As the inflated bag occupies a major portion, and preferably all of the volume of the drum of the laundry washing machine, this level is reached with only a fraction of the water that would be required in the absence of the inflated bag. First results have shown that the amount of water consumed was reduced to between 35 and 50% of the normal water consumption.

When inflating the bag in the drum of the laundry washing machine, the walls of the bag will be pressed to the interior walls of the drum so that both the bag and the drum will rotate integrally. This will specifically ensure a very effective tumbling of the fabrics, which is a factor well known for effecting an appropriate cleaning or refreshing performance, which is sometimes difficult to achieve with the processes of the prior art.

A further advantage of an inflated bag is that it will prevent uneven distribution of the weight load in the drum. Finally, maximising the volume of the bag and therefore its surface also maximises a heat transfer from the heated water into the interior of the bag. Moreover, using the normal washing cycle of a laundry washing machine with heated water results in a more even heat transfer to the surface of the bag and avoids any “hot spots” which may occur when using a hot air dryer. Thus, requirements of the choice for the material of the bag are less restricted, although very similar material as known from prior art can be used, in particular polyethylene.

An important aspect of the present invention is that the bag is formed from a material which is both gas and water impermeable to ensure that the gas remains within the bag to hold the inflated state and maintain the concentration of cleaning agent(s) during the process, and to avoid leakage of water into the bag as this would be detrimental in a dry cleaning procedure.

In the process according to the present invention the bag filled with the soiled fabric article(s) to be cleaned and/or refreshed will have to be inserted into the drum of the laundry washing machine in a non-inflated (or at least not fully inflated) state in order to facilitate entry into the machine. Although there may be different means to inflate the bag after insertion into the drum which are encompassed by the present invention, a preferred way would be a one-way valve in the wall of the bag which can be connected to an air or gas supply to introduce air or gas into the bag to inflate it to its final state.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gas to inflate the bag could simultaneously serve as a carrier for introducing at least a portion of the cleaning composition into the bag. Thus, the cleaning and/or refreshing composition could be provided for in the form of an aerosol or other system comprising a gaseous carrier. By inflating the bag with such gaseous system, loaded with the cleaning and/or refreshing composition, this cleaning and/or refreshing composition could be added to the system in a very effective way, improving the even distribution of the composition within the volume of the bag and onto the fabric articles. Moreover, adding the cleaning and/or refreshing composition in this specific form will avoid to use the usual means for supplying such composition, namely a support (towellette or others) having absorbed thereon the cleaning and/or refreshing composition. This specific way of adding the cleaning and/or refreshing composition would not only permit a more even distribution and allow the cleaning and/or refreshing composition to start acting from the moment of dosage, but will also avoid direct contact of the fabrics with the concentrated compositions as present on the usual support which may cause damages to the fabrics by decoloration, spotting, etc.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, and/or in the claims may, both separately and in any combination thereof, be material for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof. 

1. A process for cleaning and/or refreshing soiled fabric article(s) comprising; the folowing two steps in either order 1) placing the soiled fabric article(s) into a gas and water impermeable bag so that the fabric article(s) are in contact with the inside surface of the bag and a cleaning or refreshing composition, and 2) placing the bag into the drum of a laundry washing machine, and 3) sealing the bag, 4) inflating the bag with a gas to an extent that it will occupy a major portion of the volume of the drum, 5) running a wash cycle of the laundry washing machine, 6) and removing the cleaned or refreshed fabric article(s) from the bag.
 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the bag is inflated to occupy substantially all of the volume of the drum.
 3. The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bag is inflated by introducing gas into the bag.
 4. The process according to claim 3, wherein the gas simultaneously serves as a carrier for introducing at least a portion of the cleaning composition into the bag.
 5. The process according to claim 4, wherein the gas serves as a carrier for all of the cleaning composition.
 6. A fabric cleaning or refreshing kit comprising, (a) one bag made of gas and water impermeable flexible material having at least one opening to introduce soiled fabric article(s), a sealing system to seal the opening after introduction of the soiled fabric article(s), and means to inflate the bag; and (b) at least one cleaning and/or refreshing composition.
 7. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the means for inflating the bag is a one-way valve adapted to be connected to an air or gas supply.
 8. The kit according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the cleaning and/or refreshing composition is provided in the form of an aerosol or other system comprising a gaseous carrier. 